Steve McQueen to direct Tupac documentary

'12 Years a Slave' director Steve McQueen will be helming a documentary on the hip hop star Tupac Shakur who died from a drive-by shooting.

Steve McQueen will be directing a documentary of hip hop star Tupac Shakur.

Steve McQueen

The 'Shame', 'Hunger' and '12 Years a Slave' has been given full authorisation to produce the full-length feature documentary on the life of the hip hop star, according to Deadline.

In a statement, the director said: "I was extremely moved and excited to be exploring the life and times of this legendary artist. Few, if any shined brighter than Tupac Shakur. I look forward to working closely with his family to tell the unvarnished story of this talented man."

Tupac's career only last five years but he sold more than 75 million records worldwide until he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1996 when he was only 25.

He recently has become the first solo hip hop artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Although McQueen has a pedigree of well-received movies in his catalogue, the family of Tupac want to make sure the rapper is not misrepresented.

Tupac's aunt told Rolling Stone: "Our goal has always been to tell the true story, Which has never been done before in such a complete way.

"My sister always said to me, 'we are not in the business of defending Tupac. Our job is to allow him to be seen in the most complete way, so his actions, his choices and his words will allow him to speak for himself.' I believe this film will do exactly that."

McQueen, 47, who received the British Film Institute (BFI) Fellowship award in 2016,has already made a deal with Tupac's estate trustee Tom Whalley, Amaru Entertainment and White Horse Pictures.

Jayson Jackson and Nigel Sinclair are reported to be working as producers on the documentary which has the support of Interscope Records, which release most of his music, and Universal Music Publishing Group.